Sandals is a luxury all inclusive chain for couples only. We have personal experience with Sandals Resorts, having stayed for a week at one in Antigua back in 1993. Of course, they are also very expensive.
But, you sometimes get what you pay for, and at Sandals you get treated like royalty.
Just for fun, have a look at some throwback photos of this wild and crazy couple back in 1993...
Dancing fun. Hey, nobody knew us there!
Toga night! We won first prize!
Anyhow, things haven't changed that much at Sandals since that great week back in 1993. They are still very fun, very luxurious, and yet less expensive than they were back then! When you consider that airfares haven't changed much (or are actually cheaper than 25 years ago) and the price of the resort hasn't changed much, the whole Sandals experience is probably cheaper now.
If you get things on sale, you can probably do a basic luxury class room at a Sandals resort for about $400 USD per couple per night plus airfare. Considering that price includes luxury accommodation, great food and drink, and all activities (scuba lessons and spa are extra), it's really not too bad.
Lets have a look at the Sandals Barbados... (remember, you can click on any photo to make it full size)
Entrance to Sandals Barbados on Dover St.
The lower level rooms have a swimming pool right off your room!
That looks pretty comfy!
Another relaxing area.
They have three levels of rooms, including the Butler Elite standard, where you have your own personal butler included!
Let's have a look at room number 5109...
Bathroom tub for two!
King bed.
Full premium in room bar. All included.
Room service menu. Also, all included.
There are 280 different rooms at the resort. It's a fairly big place! Also, they are just finishing building the new Sandals Royal Barbados right next door, scheduled to open December 20th. We weren't allowed in there, so no pictures. But, they still have a lot of work to do to meet that schedule!
When opened, there will be 502 rooms in total.
We think this resort is too big and not personal enough compared to the experience we had in Antigua, but there is no question that you would still be treated like royalty!
At the Club level, you have access to this room.
One of the swimming pools.
Let's go check out another room....
The view from room 1324
Your balcony!
Your facilities.
There are 13 restaurants on location, including a British pub! Most of Sandals Barbados guests are from the UK, so they feel right at home going to the pub. And funny enough, the pub was the busiest place we saw on the resort!
The Merry Monkey Pub!
The Steak House.
The Indian Restaurant.
Ruth, sticking her toes in the water as one of the Sandals sailboats goes by.
Anyhow, lots of fun to see how the other half lives. Even though we are frugal travelers, we would consider returning to a Sandals resort at some point. It never hurts to treat yourself once in a while!
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And in Canada...
We did a Sandals in Bahamas for my brother's wedding about 15 years ago and really enjoyed it. Since then we have found cruise ships a pretty good deal.
ReplyDeleteNice that you got to check this one out.
Nice! It is definitely hard to beat a holiday at a Sandals resort that it for sure.
DeleteLike the toga picture:)
ReplyDeleteUs in our crazy days! ;-)
DeleteRuth twerking before that was a thing!
ReplyDeleteHad to look up "twerking", lol!
DeleteWow the Sandals resort looks fabulous...love the rooms with pool right outside the door. It sort of looks like the resort we stayed in Cancun but none of the amenities that Sandals had. Love the toga contest...first place!
ReplyDeleteThe Sandals resort was definitely beautiful. We have been to a number of resorts in the past and all were nice but none could match the level that Sandals seemed to reach.
DeleteYep, first prize, we went all out for it! ;-)
Thank you so much for posting this on the Sandals Fan Page. I was following you on Trip Advisor until they blocked your post. We are heading to Barbados in April for the first time and are staying at Sandals. Love your blog.
ReplyDeleteThank you "Unknown"! Yeah, Trip Advisor doesn't seem to like it when you post blogs on their site, oh well!
DeleteGlad that you are enjoying our blog and I hope we can give you some ideas on things to do and places to visit when you arrive here in April. I can guarantee that you will love the resort, it is gorgeous!
I agree with Unknown. So glad you posted here. I was bummed when tripadvisor removed your post. I was really enjoying your blog when poof, it was gone. Enjoy your trip and hopefully I can keep following your journey through Barbados.
DeleteGlad you could find us again. I hope that we are able to give you more ideas of things to do and places to visit if you come to Barbados. :-)
DeleteThank you, Ruth.
DeleteSandals looks fabulous we must go there sometime,! Enjoy your adventure!
ReplyDeleteIt is fabulous. When we went to one back in 1993 even thought it was expensive we never regretted spending that money once! We still have such fantastic memories of it. :-)
DeleteI presume that someone was showing you around at Sandals!
ReplyDeleteYou presume correctly. I doubt they would have allowed us to wander in to the rooms on our own...
DeleteWow - have never been to one, either as a guest or as a visitor - gorgeous pool areas. But, like you two, we're frugal travelers and think that $2400 can take us on a 10 day trip to Morocco, including flights, we just never could justify those prices. But, enjoyed the photo tour - and LOVED the pics of the wild couple from years ago!
ReplyDeleteYes, it is hard to enjoy luxury like that when you are frugal but I have to say that when we went to one back in 1993 we enjoyed every minute of it and never once regretted spending that kind of money on it, even to this day!
DeleteI am going to assume that you are headed to Morocco then! We enjoyed our time there back in April, we hope that you will enjoy yours as well. Definitely a different culture but an interesting one. :-)
LOVE seeing way back Wednesday pics! You all were having super time with toga party & looked GREAT having fun dancing away! Ruth looks like she was killing it! Go Ruth! Hope you're enjoying Barbados. We love the water/beach. Have you went swimming in the sea this trip yet? Good deals found for All-Inclusive 5 & 6 Star Resorts in Caribbean & Mexico at online travel sites. Signed up for email alerts, see great deals regularly. Few yrs ago booked 5 nights to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, at RIU Jalisco Palace. TOTAL Cost $1000.00 for couple (NOT per person) AND this included RETURN AIR. BEAUTIFUL, on beach with bar in room. Funny, all liquor bottles had fancy measuring spout...just like the clubs! So many activities & great food - never had to leave the resort! Some resorts are couples only; some are for family/couples. We really enjoy cruising & get AWESOME cruise deals. This past Sept left out of New Orleans for 6 days, under $700.00 per couple. Booked similar deal 6 days on Royal Caribbean, for next April same; under $700.00 per couple. Just have to shop around for deals - like Kevin does :)
ReplyDeleteI remember the fun time we had way back then, we just let our inhibitions run wild! :-)
DeleteYep, there is always a great deal out there if you take the time to look for it and if it doesn't matter when you go. Sounds like you have done a great job finding some fantastic deals. Enjoy your cruise next April, at that price it will be hard not too.
We have never been to a Sandals Resort but have friends who swear by them. It's fun to see you guys having such a great time back in your wild and crazy days.
ReplyDeleteWe personally don't think you could go wrong going to a Sandals Resort. They are more expensive than many of the other all-inclusive resorts but you really are treated like royalty there. Everything seems to be the best of the best plus the fact that it is a couples only resort which means no kids. Not that there is anything wrong with kids it just means a much quieter and more relaxing holiday.
DeleteThanks for sharing your experiences. It's truly enticing and inviting.
ReplyDeleteIt was very inviting, too bad we were staying there ourselves!
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